US Third Army

The Third United States Army, also known as the United States Army Central or the US Third Army, was a military formation of the US Army that existed from 1918 to 1919 and from 1932 to 1974 before being reformed in 1982. The army is most famous for its role in World War II, during which it was commanded by George S. Patton.

History
The Third Army was activated at Chaumont, France on 7 November 1918 during World War I, and it served on occupation duty in Germany until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. In 1932, the army was resurrected, and it was shipped to the United Kingdom in December 1943 in preparation for the Operation Overlord invasion of Normandy, France. In July 1944, George S. Patton took command of the Third Army immediately following the Operation Cobra breakout from Normandy, and his army took part in a massive armored drive towards the Seine River and then towards the Rhine. By late 1944, the Third Army had killed 8,973 German troops, wounded 27,081, and left 34,160 Germans missing, and it barreled towards the Rhine River border with Germany. Patton's army had run out of fuel by the time that it had reached the Siegfried Line, and it would be prevented from advancing into Germany by the Battle of the Bulge and the transfer of Third Army units to other commands. However, Patton would lead the army across the Rhine River at Oppenheim in March 1945 and push into Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia, ending the war there. From August 1944 to May 1945, 47,500 Germans had been killed by the army, 115,700 wounded, and 1,280,688 captured. The Third Army lost 16,596 dead, 96,241 wounded, and 26,809 missing. The army remained in Germany as an occupation force for years, and it would later take part in the Gulf War and the Iraq War.